Feather processing machine

ABSTRACT

A feather processing machine comprising a cleaning drum, means for introducing soiled feathers into the drum, means for agitating the feathers within the drum and blower means outside of the drum in communication therewith for withdrawing feathers from the drum and discharging them from the machine.

United States Patent lnventor Harry Brahm Miami, Fla. Appl. No. 843,453Filed July 22, 1969 Patented Oct. 12, 1971 Assignee Elma, S.A.

Panama City, Panama FEATHER PROCESSING MACHINE 9 Claims, 1 Drawing Fig.

[1.8. CI 134/102, 15/302, 15/305, 34/2, 134/25, 134/37, 134/104, 134/153lnt.Cl D06m 3/00 Field of Search 15/301,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1900 Grube 12/1941 Hetzer.....

5/1954 Sparks 7. 3/1956 Frederick et al Primary Examiner-Walter A.Scheel Assistant Examiner-C. K. Moore Attorney-Fred L. WitherspoonABSTRACT: A feather processing machine comprising a cleaning drum, meansfor introducing soiled feathers into the drum, means for agitating thefeathers within the drum and blower means outside of the drum incommunication therewith for withdrawing feathers from the drum anddischarging them from the machine.

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FEATHER PROCESSING MACHINE This invention relates to feather processingapparatus and more particularly a feather cleaning and fluffing machine.

it is an object of this invention to provide a feather processingmachine wherein feathers may be processed by apparatus having a minimumnumber of moving parts.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a feather cleanerwherein blower means are used to draw air into the cleaner housing toagitate the feathers, to apply cleaning solution thereto and todischarge cleaned feathers from the machine.

It is a still further object to provide a feather cleaning machinewherein the sole means for agitating the feathers, treating thefeathers, and discharging the feathers comprises a blower for drawingair into the machine and discharging same therefrom.

The above and other objects will become more apparent when taken inconjunction with the following detailed description and drawings showingtwo embodiments of this machine.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cabinet of the feather processingmachine;

FIG. 2 is a view taken from the rear of the cabinet and showing the airinlet to the feather processing unit within the cabinet:

FIG. 3 is a sectional line taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2, with portionsbroken away to illustrate various components of the machine. a

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2, with portionsbroken away to better illustrate the arrangement of the parts of themachine;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of HO. 3 showing in planview various components of the unit;

H6. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 3 illustratingthe arrangement of air nozzles within the cleaning drum;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the cabinet provided for a secondembodiment of the invention;-

FIG. 8 is a rear elevational view of the cabinet showing the air inletof the bottom of the cabinet;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 8, illustratingin elevation the arrangement of the components within the cabinet, and

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line l0-l0 of FIG. 9 showing infront elevation the various components and their relative positionwithin the cabinet.

As best illustrated in FIGS. l-6, the preferred embodiment of thisfeather processing machine comprises a cabinet having two outlet spouts22 and 24 positioned on its front face 26. This front face is alsoprovided with a control panel 28 containing the necessary switches andsignal lights normally found in this type of machine. The top 30 of thecabinet has a horizontally mounted feather inlet door 32 which isprovided with a transparent portion 34 made of glass or other suitablematerial. A second and smaller door" 36 is also found in the cabinet top30 to provide access to the cleaning liquid tank carried directlytherebeneath. A transparent section 38 is located in the front face 26directly in alignment with the cleaning liquid tank for ready observanceof liquid level therein. All four comers of the cabinet are equippedwith casters 40 or the like to provide mobility to the cabinet.

The feather processing unit 50 fits within the cabinet 20 in the mannerillustrated in FIG. 2 with the air inlet 52 being located in the backface 54 of the cabinet. Referring additionally to H08. 3 and 4, thefeather processing unit 50 comprises a cylindrical cleaning drum 56having a vertical wall 58 and an inwardly tapered lower wall portion 60terminating in a flat bottom 62. The upper end of the vertical wall 58is provided with a circular cover 64 having a peripheral portion whichengages the inner walls of the cabinet 20 in a somewhat tangentialmanner as best shown in FIG. 6.

A blower unit 70 is mounted on the upper face of the circular cover 64with the blower 72 being held in spaced relation above the circularcover 64 by meansof spacer assemblies 74.

The blower motor 76 is affixed to the upper face of the blower 72. Theblower is provided with a centrally disposed circular inlet 78 whichfaces downwardly toward the cylindrical drum 56. A feather feed inlet 80is secured to the underside of the cover 64. This feed :inlet 80 is arectangularly shaped funnel member having an enlarged open end 82positioned adjacent the inner face of the vertical wall 58 and has anoutlet directly connected to the blower inlet 78.

The blower 72 has an outlet 84 which is connected to a valved divertersection 86 in turn in communication with outlet spouts 22 and 24. Avalve 88 may be reciprocated by lever 90 to control flow to thesespouts. A bypass outlet 92 is connected to blower outlet 84 fordirecting flow back into the cleaning drum 56. Recirculation back intothe cleaning drum 56 is controlled by valve 98 operated by lever 100 andassociated linkage 102 connected to said valves.

A soiled feather inlet tube having a rectangular cross section isconnected between an appropriately shaped opening 112 in the drum cover64 and the opening provided by door 32 in the cabinet top 30. It isthrough this inlet 110 that the soiled feathers are introduced into thecleaning drum 56. In order to control suction when the inlet door 34 isopened, a valve arrangement is provided to partially cover the blowerinlet opening 78 as follows. An apertured valve plate 114 is slidablydisposed on the upper face of the drum cover 64 so as to open and closethe blower inlet 78. A flexible connector 116 is affixed to one end ofthe valve plate 114 and is passed over a plurality of rollers andattached to the free end of door 32. The other end of the valve plate114 has a coil spring 118 connected thereto in opposition to the pull ofthe flexible con nector 116. When the door 32 is closed, the valve plateis in the open position and full suction is produced through the blowerinlet 78. Upon the opening of the door 32, the valve slides andpartially covers the inlet 78 thereby lessening the suction in thesoiled feather inlet tube 110. Closing the door 32 allows the valve 114to return to the fully open position under action of spring 118.

The drum cover64 isprovided with a centrally disposed circular air inletopening 120 which is actually beneath the blower 70 mounted in spacedrelation on the drum cover. The bottom 62 of the cleaning drum 56 isapertured to receive a grill 122 through which foreign matter removedfrom the feathers may pass. A diffuser 124 having a plurality ofradially extending blades 126 is mounted on the grill 122 in alignmentwith air inlet 120 in drum cover 64. A generally rectangular tray 130 iscarried beneath the grill 122 in an airtight manner by housing 132secured to the bottom 62 of the drum 56.

The inwardly tapered drum wall portion 60 mounts a plurality ofcone-shaped air nozzles 134. More specifically, each nozzle 134 ismounted in and through the wall 60 so that the small end of the nozzleextends outwardly into the drum chamber to produce a clockwise flow ofair in the chamber. It has been found desirable to introducepurification fluids into the cleaning drum chamber and this isaccomplished by using the well known exaspirating principle.

Referring to FIGS. 4-6, a cleaning liquid receptacle is mounted on thedrum cover 64 directly beneath the door 36 in the cabinet top 30. A feedline 142 runs from the receptacle 140 downwardly outside of the cleaningdrum 56 and at a point immediately adjacent the tapered drum wallportion 60 bends at a right angle and pursues a general circular paththerearound. Outlets 144 are taken off the feed line and are directedcentrally within the cone shaped nozzles 134 so that liquid will bewithdrawn by the flow of air by the outlet as it passes through thenozzle. In order to control flow of cleaning liquid in the feed line 142a valve 146 is placed therein. Said valve is operated by means of lever148 extending outwardly on the cabinet front 26. As shown in FIG. 4, alight 150 may be provided at the base of the liquid receptacle 140 toassist in determining liquid level through opening 38.

A conventional ultraviolet lamp assembly 152 may be secured to theunderside of the drum cover 56 to further aid in purification of thefeathers. All controls and switches are located on the control panel 28on the cabinet front 26.

120 in the drum cover 64. This proceeds downwardly and impinges onblades 126 of diverter 124. With the unit so operating, soiled feathersare introduced by lifting door 32 and thereby partially closing blowerinlet 78 by means of sliding valve i114 operated by flexible cable 116to lessen the suction in the soiled feather inlet tube 110. Feathersintroduced into tube 110 fall down into cleaning drum 56 where fullaction is again provided when the door 32 is closed. The feathers areswept up in the swirling clockwise rotating air mass in the drum. Thiscauses the foreign particles to be deflected and drop downwardly throughthe grill 122 into the tray 130. Valve 146 is opened and cleaning fluidis introduced into the cleaning drum through the nozzles 134.Additionally the ultraviolet light 152 may be employed to obtain furthercleaning action.

It should be pointed out that initially it may be desirable to openbypass tube 92 by lifting valve 98 so that the feathers will recirculatebecause as soon as the feathers fall into the cleaning drum and start torotate clockwise they will be caught up in the large open end 82 of thefunnel inlet 80 and up into blower 72 and thence through blower outlet84. If the bypass is not used, the feathers will be ejected throughspout 22 or 24 depending on the position of the valve 88. Heating meansmay be provided within the cleaning chamber 56 if required to attainproper feather conditioning.

A modified form of this invention wherein a rotating cylindrical drum isemployed is illustrated in FlGS. 7-10. The entire unit comprises acabinet 300 having a front panel 302 provided with an outlet spout 304through which the processed feathers are discharged. The cabinet toppanel 306 has two horizontally mounted doors 308 and 310; door 308providing access to the feather inlet hopper and door 3K0 providingaccess to the receptacle carrying the liquid cleaner employed in theprocess. The cabinet rear panel 312 is shown in FIG. 8 wherein the mainair inlet 316 is formed in the lower portion of said panel. The leftside panel 318 as in FIG. 7 is provided with a secondary air inlet 320.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, the modified unit comprises a cylindricaldrum 324 rotating about a horizontal axis, said drum having acylindrical center section in the form ofa grill 326 bounded on eachside by a circular coextensive band of sheet metal 328 and 330. Acircular plate 332 closes the end formed by band 330 while an outwardlyextending coneshaped plate 334 is attached to and closes the end formedby band 328. Transversely extending drum baffles 336 serve the dualfunction of agitating the material within the rotating drum 324 andfurnish additional strength to maintain the drum in assembled form sincethe baffles are secured to the bands 328 and 330. The drum 324 isprovided with parallel peripheral guides 340-342 on band 330 and 344-346on band 328. These parallel guides form tracks 348 and 350 in which arepositioned roller supports 352 and 354 respectively. These rollers aremounted on appropriate supports generally designated 360. It should benoted that rollers 352 and 354 bear on the drum bands 330 and 328respectively. Additional steadying support is furnished by means ofupper rollers 362 and 364 supported by brackets 366 and 368 respectivelyaffixed to cabinet cross plate 370.

An inlet hopper 372 having a rectangular configuration in its upperportion 374 is mounted directly in alignment with the door 308 in thecabinet top panel 306 to receive the feathers which are to be processed.A spout or funnel like portion 378 extends downwardly from the inlethopper portion 374 and turns slightly at its lower end so as to directthe feathers into the drum 324 through hole 380 formed through the drumpulley 382 and the drum end plate 332.

A small blower unit 390 is positioned in the lower portion of thecabinet 300 so that its intake 392 will be in direct communication withsecondary air inlet 320 in the left side cabinet panel 318. The blowerunit 390 carries a pulley 394 which is drivingly connected to drumpulley 392 by means of belt 396 to provide the rotative power for drum324. A discharge conduit 398 leads from blower 390 to the central drumopening 380. As specifically shown, the conduit makes a right turn andis centrally located in the discharge end 398 of the lower hopperportion 378. Obviously flow of air out of the nozzlelike end 400 ofconduit 398 will assist in feeding the feathers into the drum 324.

It is generally necessary to use some type of liquid cleaner inprocessing the feathers and in this embodiment the apparatus comprises areceptacle 402, for carrying the liquid cleaner, positioned in the upperportion of the cabinet 324 immediately under and accessibly disposedwith regard to door 310 in the cabinet top 306. A feed conduit 406 leadsfrom the receptacle 402 downwardly into the nozzle end portion of airconduit 398. It should be noted that the open end of conduit 406 iscentrally disposed rearwardly of the nozzle 400 so that the cleaningliquid will be withdrawn therefrom as air flows through the nozzle. Avalve 408 is interposed in the feed conduit 406 and is operated by lever410 to control flow through this conduit A light 412 may be locateddirectly beneath the receptacle 402 to assist in determining supply ofliquid therein.

The feathers exit from the drum 324 through a drum discharge conduit 420extending centrally outward from drum end 334 and then turning upwardlyparallel to the cabinet side panel 422. The discharge conduit 420 has aprojection 424 in the form of a slightly curved plate extending into thedrum 324. The transverse curvature of the projection 424 issubstantially the same as that of connected drum discharge 420. Thisdischarge conduit 420 is connected to manifold 428 which rests oncabinet cross plate 370. The main blower 430 is mounted on top of themanifold 428 with its intake side in communication therewith. The mainblower 430 is powered by an electric motor 431 connected directlythereto. The discharge side 432 of the main blower is connected to theoutlet spout 304 in the cabinet front panel 302.

In order to catch the debris which passes through the drum grill 326, atray 440 is provided directly therebeneath. The tray is slidablydisposed in a rectangular housing 442 located beneath the drum and incommunication with the cabinet front panel 302. in order to make certainthat most of the debris is fed to the tray 440, curved baffles 446 and448 are placed around the lower portion of the drum 324 to direct debrisinto the tray 440. It should be noted that these baffles are supportedby the tray housing 442 extending upwardly about one-half the height ofthe drum 324.

The manifold 428 is provided with a window 450 which is aligned withobservation window 452 in the front panel 302 so that the condition ofthe feathers just prior to discharge may be observed. Additionally, themanifold may be provided with an ultra violet light 454 to aid inpurifying the feathers. It should be noted that the cabinet in generalexcept for openings 3116 and 320, is airtight so that the suction efiectto withdraw feathers from the drum 324 and the supplementary forcereceived from nozzle 400 will be most effective.

The main blower 430 and the small blower 390 are both operatedelectrically and controlled by switch means located on control panel 460on the cabinet front panel 302.

The operation of this modified embodiment is quite similar to that ofthe first described embodiment. After the main blower has been turnedon, feathers which are to be processed are introduced into feather inlethopper 372 from whence they proceed downwardly into rotating drum 324,after which the small blower is turned on and the drum rotationcommenced. whereupon valve 408 is opened to allow a prescribed amount ofcleaning liquid to be fed out through nozzle 400 into the cleaning drum.As the drum rotates at a very slow r.p.m. there is no problem ofcentrifugal action thus the debris in the feathers is caused to passthrough the grill 326 as the feathers are agitated by rotation of thedrum assisted by the transverse baffles 336 and air agitation producedby nozzle 400 plus that from main blower 430.

The cleaned and fluffed feathers as they are further agitated fall ondischarge conduit projection 424 within the drum 324 and are drawnoutwardly through discharge conduit 420 up into manifold 428 wherein thefeathers are further fluffed and thence through the suction side ofblower 430 and then out discharge spout 432. While being agitated inmanifold 428, an ultraviolet light is provided to further purify thefeathers.

As will be readily apparent from the detailed description and drawings,numerous variations can be made without departing from the scope of theinvention. For example, the feather cleaning machine will also flufi andclean materials other than feathers per se. Additionally, the cleaningsolution is one which cleans and disinfects the material being processedThe type of solution used depends on the material being processed andthe contamination of the material.

This machine may be equipped with automatic controls including timerunits and associated signaling means. These controls are mostconveniently switched and/or operated from a control panel positioned ona readily accessible portion of the cabinet.

The parts of the processing machine of this invention may be made fromvarious types of materials. Many times plastics may be substituted formetal, for example, circular bands of metal 328 and 330 which bound thegrill 326 may be made from plastic.

What is claimed is:

l. A feather processing machine comprising a closed cleaning drum, saiddrum having a vertical wall and a top and bottom, a blower assemblysecured to the drum top with its suction side communicating with theinside top portion of said drum, a plurality of air inlet nozzles in thelower wall portion of the drum, said nozzles providing air communicationbetween the inside and outside of the drum and being directed so as todirect the air in a circular path around the inner face of the drumwhereby a swirling air mass is produced within the drum by the air drawninto the drum through said nozzles under the suction provided by theaforesaid blower assembly, inlet means in the drum for introduction ofsoiled feathers thereinto, and said blower having an outletcommunicating with the outside of the drum whereby feathers caught up inthe swirling air in the drum will be drawn up through the blower inletand thence out the blower outlet.

2. The invention set forth in claim 1 wherein means are provided forintroducing a cleaning liquid into the drum.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 1 and wherein a funnel-shapedintake member is positioned within the drum and connected to the blowerinlet to provide better feather travel to the blower.

4. The invention as set forth in claim 3 wherein a grill is provided inthe bottom of the drum and an airtight tray is positioned directlybeneath said grill to receive foreign material passing through thegrill.

5. The invention as set forth in claim 4 and wherein means is providedfor reducing the suction within the drum when the feather inlet means isopened for the introduction of feathers into the drum.

6. The invention as set forth in claim 4 and wherein bypass means isprovided in the blower outlet to return the feathers to the interior ofthe drum.

7. The invention as set forth in claim 4 and wherein an air inlet iscentrally positioned in the drum top, and a diffuser is positioned onthe grill directly beneath the said air inlet whereby air is directeddownwardly onto the diffuser and issues radially therefrom to carry thematerial being processed outwardly into the main rotary air massproduced by the nozzles.

8. A feather processing machine comprising a closed cleaning drum, saiddrum having a vertical wall and a top and bottom, a blower assemblysecured to the drum top with its suction side communicating with theinside top portion of the drum, nozzle means within the cleaning drumfor introducing air from without the cleaning drum thereinto in acircular path around the inner face of the drum to cause the featherstherein to assume a similar swirling motion, inlet means in the drum forthe introduction of soiled feathers thereinto, and said blower having anoutlet communicating with the outside of the drum whereby the feathersagitated in the drum will be drawn up through the suction side of theblower and discharged through the blower outlet.

9. The invention as set forth in claim 8 and wherein a disinfectant issprayed into the machine to purify the feathers.

1. A feather processing machine comprising a closed cleaning drum, saiddrum having a vertical wall and a top and bottom, a blower assemblysecured to the drum top with its suction side communicating with theinside top portion of said drum, a plurality of air inlet nozzles in thelower wall portion of the drum, said nozzles providing air communicationbetween the inside and outside of the drum and being directed so as todirect the air in a circular path around the inner face of the drumwhereby a swirling air mass is produced within the drum by the air drawninto the drum through said nozzles under the suction provided By theaforesaid blower assembly, inlet means in the drum for introduction ofsoiled feathers thereinto, and said blower having an outletcommunicating with the outside of the drum whereby feathers caught up inthe swirling air in the drum will be drawn up through the blower inletand thence out the blower outlet.
 2. The invention set forth in claim 1wherein means are provided for introducing a cleaning liquid into thedrum.
 3. The invention as set forth in claim 1 and wherein afunnel-shaped intake member is positioned within the drum and connectedto the blower inlet to provide better feather travel to the blower. 4.The invention as set forth in claim 3 wherein a grill is provided in thebottom of the drum and an airtight tray is positioned directly beneathsaid grill to receive foreign material passing through the grill.
 5. Theinvention as set forth in claim 4 and wherein means is provided forreducing the suction within the drum when the feather inlet means isopened for the introduction of feathers into the drum.
 6. The inventionas set forth in claim 4 and wherein bypass means is provided in theblower outlet to return the feathers to the interior of the drum.
 7. Theinvention as set forth in claim 4 and wherein an air inlet is centrallypositioned in the drum top, and a diffuser is positioned on the grilldirectly beneath the said air inlet whereby air is directed downwardlyonto the diffuser and issues radially therefrom to carry the materialbeing processed outwardly into the main rotary air mass produced by thenozzles.
 8. A feather processing machine comprising a closed cleaningdrum, said drum having a vertical wall and a top and bottom, a blowerassembly secured to the drum top with its suction side communicatingwith the inside top portion of the drum, nozzle means within thecleaning drum for introducing air from without the cleaning drumthereinto in a circular path around the inner face of the drum to causethe feathers therein to assume a similar swirling motion, inlet means inthe drum for the introduction of soiled feathers thereinto, and saidblower having an outlet communicating with the outside of the drumwhereby the feathers agitated in the drum will be drawn up through thesuction side of the blower and discharged through the blower outlet. 9.The invention as set forth in claim 8 and wherein a disinfectant issprayed into the machine to purify the feathers.